Irish Potato Bread
Boxty is practically a national dish in Ireland. It can be served as a potato pancake, a dumpling or, as here, in a crunchy soda bread.
- 2 3/4-pound russet potatoes
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white
- 1/3 cup canola oil, plus additional for greasing the baking sheet
- 3/4 cup fat-free milk
- 2 tablespoons minced chives (or the green part of a scallion)
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting and kneading
- 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Bring 1 inch water to a boil over high heat in vegetable steamer or large saucepan fitted with portable vegetable steamer. Peel 1 potato and cut into eighths; steam pieces until tender when pierced with fork, about 15 minutes. Rice or mash pieces in large bowl; set aside to cool 15 minutes.
- Position rack in center of oven; preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil large baking sheet with canola oil dabbed on paper towel.
- Peel other potato and grate it through large holes of box grater. Squeeze out any excess moisture; add to riced or mashed potatoes.
Stir in egg, egg white, oil, milk, chives and caraway seeds until fairly smooth. Add 3 1/4 cups flour, baking powder and salt; stir with wooden spoon until mixture forms soft but sticky dough. - Lightly flour clean work surface as well as your cleaned and dried hands. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead 1 minute, adding flour in 1-tablespoon increments to keep dough from turning too sticky. Too much flour and dough turns tough; it should remain a little tacky but workable. Shape into 8-inch circle, flatten slightly keeping loaf mounded at its center and place on prepared baking sheet. Use sharp knife to slash X in top of dough, cutting into dough about 1/2 inch.
- Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch , about 55 minutes. Cool 1 hour on wire rack before slicing and serving.
Nutrition information per slice: 183 calories, 5 g fat, 14 mg cholesterol, 298 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 5 g protein, 222 mg potassium, 6 mg vitamin C
Source: United States Potato Board
